Garage size

[HerdThinner]

I am going to be building a home and was wondering on garage size.

The goal is to have an area for a work bench and tool chests, a side by side, one full size truck, muscle car and old school pick up.

I am debating if it would be better to build one unit for the vehicles (3 cars) and work space and then an another storage shed for the side by side, rider mower etc.

I was wondering if there is anyone out there that has some ideas.

Sorry for the newbie question but if you don't ask you will never know.

 

[22george]

I have a separate shed for the mower and other "house" related stuff. Suggest you build your garage as big as you have space and money for, because however big you build it, you will run out of space.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

At least 3 car. Maybe even 4 car and use the last bay to store stuff in and that way you know it will be big enough.


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[Metal-Marc]

Build the garage as big as possible. Build a shed later.

 

[greg13]

I have a separate shed for the mower and other "house" related stuff. Suggest you build your garage as big as you have space and money for, because however big you build it, you will run out of space.

....Than double the size of it!

 

[Voi]

We were working on a house drawing and my side by side was going to be parked perpendicular to and behind the vehicle in the last stall. Then a small overhead door for side entry from the gable end furthest from the house.

Also considered putting it on a lift. Or both side entry AND on a lift.

My side by side doesn't like starting in the cold so having it in the garage and possibly near an outlet for a battery tender was important. I also wanted it stored near a floor drain since I plow with it.

We ended up finding an existing house near the lot we started the drawing for so that project never developed.

I've had two homes with 1000+ square foot garages. I didn't design either of them. Without going in too much detail, I can say that the layout of the overhead doors and man door(s) matters as much as square footage. I look at a lot of houses and I'm always surprised how poorly laid out some large garages are.

If I had a muscle car and an old truck I'd probably want them up on lifts just to avoid dings from moving stuff around. So consider ceiling height as well.

 

[BruceMc]

Suggest you build your garage as big as you have space and money for, because however big you build it, you will run out of space.

/\ This

 

[Prospecter]

I have a 24x30. One side for workshop. Other side for a vehicle and materials shelves along one wall. My vehicle bay is 12' wide. Wish I had gone a little wider to work on vehicle side. 12' does not leave me a lot of room to work. 16' would be nice. Wish I had gone a little higher than 8' ceiling. So if I was doing it over, I'd go 28' x 32' with the garage door in the 28' side.

However, I am not in the "Go large as possible" school. Bigger means more steps, and more to heat (or cool, I guess, except that I'm in Maine, so not much of a cooling issue).

I have a separate shed for garden equipment, and a 1 car garage attached to the house. If I need more room, I'll build another garage that won't be heated and just for vehicle / stuff storage.

 

[kbeefy]

I agree with building a separate cold storage building for storage.

Your attached garage will fill up fast. I thought my 600' garage and 1000' shop were huge when I moved in.

Next place I'm going for 600' garage, 1200+' shop and 2500' storage building.

 

[AZ Pete]

minimum 24' deep, 12' wide for each vehicle. I would prefer 30' deep. Keep the lawn machinery and storage outside the garage in a shed or separate bay.

 

[dmurgo]

Just designed this and move in two weeks: 3 bay, 36x38. The first bay has about 8x10 less in the back for the mudroom and stairs for mudroom so it is a 1 car bay. The other two bays can fit an suv and sedan in a row. Literally measure the width of a vehicle with the doors open and use that to design the minimum size so your doors don’t hit anything. I also don’t have any posts to support the ceiling so it’s one open space. Look into low hanging garage door rails to free up overhead space. My third bay is a 10x14 door to fit my boat. I made my two other doors 10x10 so they are similar and I don’t mind the look. Now I can drive a Thule box on the roof and not hit the opening as well.

I plan to use the back of my center bay as a tool area, because I don’t have 5 cars. My neighbor has about 8’ long open area measuring from his garage door to his house wall, so he can have plenty of room for cabinets and tools on the side, I liked this.

My other neighbor has stairs cutting into his garage bay and is a poor design. He can’t even back open up some doors if he parks there.

 

[MushCreek]

I have a separate shed for my outdoor equipment as well. I'm not going to lose my garage because some Chinese carburetor decided to leak and catch fire. I store the gas cans in the shed, and have a flammables cabinet in the shop for paint and solvents.

As for the garage, 12' wide per vehicle would be the minimum. To have room for other stuff, 30-32' deep minimum.

 

[mmb617]

Once you start putting stuff in the garage that doesn't really belong there it tends to get out of control and the next thing you know your cars are in the driveway because there's no room for them in the garage. This happens all the time.

When I was finally able to build a garage I made a rule that only vehicles, parts for vehicles or tools to work on vehicles went in the garage. Lawn equipment, garden tools and assorted yard sale junk can go in sheds, but not in the garage. Then you have to be vigilant because the wife and kids will push the rules as far as you allow.

One other note on building a garage. When in that situation and starting with a clean slate make provisions to have at least one bay tall enough for a lift, even if you don't intend to install one. You may change your mind later. I can tell you from experience it's easier to do during the initial build than it is to add another bay later that's high enough.

 

[CraigStu]

We built our attached garage 28deep x 32wide two years ago. I immediately got tired of working around the mower and other yard ****. Our deck is just 10x15 but I built a roof under it from corrugated plastic and plastic gutter. Still working on getting it 100% sealed but all the yard **** is now under the deck out of my way. Obviously bigger is better but this size is working out quite well for us.

 

[glentre]

First, welcome to the forum!

Depends on what kind of person you are with regard to neatness. If you want painted walls, epoxy floor, nice cabinets and always run a clean, uncluttered garage, then have a separate shed for garden tractor and other tools and equipment because that stuff is always messy, leaks oil/gas and is dirty stuff. If you are the opposite kind who doesn't mind the clutter and cares little about a show type garage, don't worry about storing this stuff along with your vehicles in the garage.

Glen

 

[dcg9381]

Whatever you do, decide on what you need and add another 50-100%.
When you are building a house - concrete is expensive, but you have the advantage of being able to use shared walls.

For me, I like "oversize" garages - where I have lots of room to move around the cars. I'd prefer to keep the lawn equipment and other things that tend to get dirty and dusty somewhere else. An over-sized 3 car is a minimum for 2 vehicles (personally).

But do it when building a house, adding on later is a lot more problematic and expensive.

Exterior sheds are easy to do (typically).

Consider a lean-to arrangement also (shed roof) - good protection for vehicles.

Also consider parking configuration. Garages where the only parking is directly behind them, hard to get vehicles in and out if you have company/guests.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, Just as you can't have too much money; for our purposes it is impossible to have too large a garage.

Stuff, be it "Neat Stuff" or Junk, accumulates to fill garages.

 

[ScottsGT]

I've been looking into this as well. My current home has the garage in the basement, home is built on a hill. It''s three bays wide, but just two doors. One side is my tool storage area and work bench along with shared space for the 2nd fridge and upright freezer.
Beside this I have a "hobby room" that is 16X24. This is where I build my scale models and keep the gun collection. I also have some of my roll around wood working tools stored in here.

But we are looking at moving to a lake home for retirement. So far we have seen a few without garages and we will need to add one on, in addition to putting in an "In-Law" suite for the FIL that is 82 if he takes a turn in health and we have to care for him. I know this will become a major fight with the wife over the space I "require vs want". My hobbies are the old Mustang (which I might be selling to help fund the lake home), car work in general, wood working and my models. I just cannot fathom giving up my tools and hobbies to sit on a screen porch and look at the water while drinking coffee in the morning, wine in the evening. Wife is good with that, not me. I'd be suicidal.
I've gotta have my space. So far I'm thinking a 30X50 with the small suite built in one end. I can down size garage space with the Mustang gone.

 

[u2slow]

Build the garage as big as possible. Build a shed later.

I actually built them together because it allowed my building to be larger, more uniform, and taller.

But yes, big as possible. Bylaws usually get in the way first.

 

[OldPirate]

If I did it all over again, I'd have a separate space for lawnmowers, snowblowers, weed whackers, etc. Most of my garage dirt comes from that stuff! Go big and separate the lawn and garden stuff.

 

[thammel]

I have a 20x20 garage for the daily drivers. No room in that for anything else. Also have a 28x32 for real auto work. And a 12x 16 shed for all the outdoor equipment. This setup is just about ideal but the 28x32 should have been 32x36. So what everyone says....always go bigger.

 

[Falcon67]

12x16 for the yard stuff, 24x40 for the shop. I can get three "vehicles" in there, but one is a 58" wide at the rear tires dragster. So 30x50 minimum for your criteria IMHO. You can do it in 40 with a lift to stack, but you'll need height and fore sure the 30' depth. You can do it in 24' deep - only if you can stand the overhead door only able to open half way.

 

[Glemon]

I just cannot fathom giving up my tools and hobbies to sit on a screen porch and look at the water while drinking coffee in the morning, wine in the evening. Wife is good with that, not me. I'd be suicidal.
/QUOTE]

Amen

 

[dcg9381]

Which is why we put a porch on the back of our shop...

 

[Hunt2871]

I am going to be building a home and was wondering on garage size.

The goal is to have an area for a work bench and tool chests, a side by side, one full size truck, muscle car and old school pick up.

I am debating if it would be better to build one unit for the vehicles (3 cars) and work space and then an another storage shed for the side by side, rider mower etc.

I was wondering if there is anyone out there that has some ideas.

Sorry for the newbie question but if you don't ask you will never know.

My last shop was a 40X60X18 foot behemoth. You'd have to pack a lunch to walk from one end to the other...and it facilitated my addiction to buying tools and vehicles I meant to restore one day. I am convinced 400 square feet is plenty for most people and it forces you to be smart with layout and working. I had so many carts in the 2400 square foot building I had to put tags on them so I could see where they were and what they had on them. It was too much.....